Son defends mom from dog attack

A good son

WASAGA BEACH – Sandy Wood-Gaines had a close call last week when she was attacked by a newly adopted dog, but she got away with minor injuries thanks to the quick actions of her teenage son.

Sandy was heading home to Wasaga Beach Jan. 31 with her new Doberman. Her 16-year-old son Ryan, a Collingwood Collegiate student, was behind the wheel of his Jeep, his girlfriend was in the passenger seat and Sandy was in the backseat with the two-year-old dog when out of the blue, 45 minutes into the drive, the dog attacked her.

Sandy said she had adopted the dog from a reputable shelter. She had visited the dog on three occasions and each meeting had gone well.

The dog wasn’t showing any signs of stress during the ride home. It even leaded forward and licked Ryan on the cheek.

“The dog was fine until we got to that point. He was sweet in the backseat. I couldn’t believe it, that’s what freaked me out the most,” said Sandy. “I was looking forward in the car and I just kind of glanced up at him and he kind of looked down at me and then just snapped. He was attacking me and I went into defensive mode and put my hand up and cowered behind the passenger seat, hoping he would stop.”

Sandy, who operates Sandy’s Dog Grooming in Wasaga Beach, has been in the dog grooming business for 25 years so she is no stranger to animal behaviour. She said she knew not to be aggressive in return.

Sandy instinctively turned her face from the dog and put her hands up.

She said the dog was growling and snarling and attacking her head like she had seen it attack a stuffed animal back at the shelter.

The dog was attacking the back of her head when her son elbowed the dog from the front seat as he pulled over. He quickly got the dog out of the car as his girlfriend called 911.

“If [Ryan] hadn’t reacted as quickly as he did, I’d be dead. He would have bit right into my neck,” said Sandy. “Most dogs would stop, there’s something mental going on there.”

She said she was amazed and how cool and calm Ryan was because there was a lot of blood and Sandy had several gashes on the head.

The dog wasn’t aggressive toward Ryan, she said, even when he had the dog by the collar.

Sandy told him to let go of the dog and they eventually got the dog on a leash and tied it to a tree.

“The dog seemed fine at that point,” said Sandy.

The whole thing happened on a back road south of Stayner. They pulled over in front of a house, where Sandy was able to wait for the ambulance.

She was taken to hospital and received sutures to her hand and head.

In the meantime, Sandy contacted the shelter and Ryan waited with the dog until shelter representatives came to pick him up.

Sandy said the dog will have to be put down as a result of the incident.

She said thanks to Ryan, there is no permanent damage to her hand or head.